Driven By Cause
by RejectedByBrianHolden
Summary: Transferring schools, leaving his friends and family behind seemed like a daunting task that made his stomach churn. Starting new had always been hard for Blaine. When he transferred to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry he met Kurt Hummel, and suddenly it didn't seem too difficult anymore. [AU, and some OCs. This is a roundrobin between myself and one of my friends, Emma]
1. Chapter 1

"Um... Where are we going?" Blaine asked quietly.

Stepping through the doors of Hogwarts was like stepping into a different world. Enormous rooms, moving staircases, talkative paintings and milky blueish-white ghosts that lurked throughout the halls often had First Years' eyes bugging out of their skulls. Blaine, even as a Sixth Year, was mesmerized by it all. Flows of black robes that fluttered around student's ankles swarmed through the crowded halls like tumbling black smoke, and it seemed to Blaine that it would be quite easy to get lost amidst the river of young wizards.

"To Headmistress McGonagall's office. You were put into Gryffindor, right?"

Blaine tore his eyes away from the stream of chattering students and nodded at his friend.

"You're going to love it here, Blaine. You'll be happy you transferred here, don't worry," Taylor shot him a smile. Blaine felt his stomach clench nervously and gave Taylor a queasy smile in return.

Regardless of Taylor's high recommendation and steady praise of his beloved school, Blaine still felt anxious as hell to start his sixth year at the famous castle. But Taylor ran a hand through his blonde hair before he grabbed Blaine's bicep and guided him confidently through the other Hogwarts residents. His sureness gave some comfort to Blaine, and Blaine trustingly followed his best friend down several hallways to a stone gargoyle.

"Apple trinkets," Taylor stated clearly. The gargoyle stepped aside, and Blaine was then dragged up a spiral stone staircase. Soon, they were in a small, circular office. Fat books were sorted neatly into the bookshelves that were built into the walls, surrounding an old wooden desk. A golden glow seemingly emanated from the walls, and it made the room look even more magical. Behind the desk sat Minerva McGonagall, the Head of Gryffindor House, and the Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was scratching away at a piece of parchment with a quill, its feather a deep and elegant shade of green.

"Sit down, please, boys," McGonagall said crisply without looking up from her letter.

The two boys sat down in the suprisingly comfortable chairs in front of McGonagall's desk. Blaine stared down at his lap, twisting his robes nervously between his fingers. There was the small sound of McGonagall setting her pen down onto the desk, and then there was silence. A stretching, long silence. The kind of silence that made you shift uncomfortably in your seat while you waited for it to graciously end. Blaine's eyes finally rose from his lap, and he found the Headmistress staring back at him through her small, round glasses.

"I was waiting for you to look up, dear boy," she clarified. "Ginger newt?" McGonagall gestured simply to the plate of cookies on her desk. Blaine shook his head. His stomach did another nauseous flip. McGonagall offered a small, kind smile. "Hello, Mr. Anderson," she greeted. "Mr. Clark," McGonagall nodded to Taylor, "is a Gryffindor as well, so he can show you around the castle and to your dorms." McGonagall turned to Taylor. "Mr. Clark, I would like you to show Mr. Anderson to his classes on his first day. I'll notify your teachers, just in case you run late while accompanying your friend."

Taylor nodded. "Okay, Professor."

"As for you," McGonagall turned back to face Blaine. She flipped through a few pages of parchment before finding the list of Blaine's classes, "Here is your schedule." McGonagall leaned over the desk and handed Blaine the paper with a quick smile. "Now off you go. Both of you. Take Blaine to see Madame Pomfrey for some Calming Draught after he gets settled into his dormitory, Clark. He looks a bit ruffled."

Taylor nodded and stood, as did Blaine. As they filed down the narrow staircase, Blaine whispered into his friend's ear, "She's a bit intimidating, yeah?"

Taylor chuckled. "Sure she is."

"C'mon Tay, you know I'm not _normally _this skiddish."

"Oh yeah," Taylor smirked, "You've got the true heart of a Gryffindor, Blaine."

Blaine pouted.

"This," Taylor stepped through the hole behind the painting of the Fat Lady and into the Gryffindor Commons, "is your new home."

Bronze and crimson tapestries hung on the walls, giving the Commons a heroic glow that filled up the entire room. A beautiful stone fireplace sat against the far wall. Black leather couches and cozy armchairs circled the fire, occupied by six or seven students who gathered by the hearth to catch up from the previous summer. Taylor began to make his way across the room to a shadowed staircase. Blaine unhooked his gaze from the beautiful paintings that lined the high walls and hurried to fall instep behind his friend.

Taylor opened the door to the Sixth Year dormitories, and immediately there was an uproar of greetings from the other boys. They pulled him into the room, clapping Taylor on the back and pulling him into quick hugs, leaving Blaine to stand sheepishly in the doorway.

"Hey, who's this?" a striking blonde gestured to Blaine.

"This very awkward guy," Taylor walked over and tugged Blaine into the room, "is my best mate, Blaine Anderson. Blaine, I'd like you to meet Jeff," Taylor pointed to the blonde, "Nick, his best friend," he gestured to a dark-haired boy standing next to Jeff, "Trent," a stocky brunette waved from the back of the room, "David, the Gryffindor Seeker, and Wes, one of our Chasers."

"Hey, guys..." Blaine gave a gawky little wave before wrapping his arms around his middle. The other boys smiled and nodded to him before returning to the business of unpacking their trunks.

Blaine found his own and chose his bed, heaving his trunk onto the unoccupied bunk with a oink of exertion. After setting into the task of sorting out his books and quills, Blaine felt a hand come to rest gently on his shoulder. Glancing to the side, he saw Taylor peeking at his face, biting his lip.

"Do you want me to take you to the nurse for that Calming Draught? I've never seen you so nervous... You're practically jumping out of your skin, mate."

Taylor gave him a searching look, and Blaine sighed. His tense shoulders slumped and he gave his friend a soft smile. "I'm fine, Tay. Really. Dalton was just..." Blaine sighed again, "it was my home. My dad was a professor there, so I'd been around that place my whole life. It's just hard to leave it behind, you know?"

Taylor gave Blaine a sad smile. "Yeah. I get you. But, hey," he rubbed Blaine's shoulder reassuringly, "you'll meet people here. You'll make friends within the day, I'm sure. C'mon," Taylor grinned a little bit, "You're Blaine fuckin' Anderson. They'll write epic's depicting your undying charm and charisma. You have nothing to worry about. You'll settle in just fine. It's not like you can't write Cooper or Ethan or Shane, right?"

Blaine gave a little shrug, feeling a smidgen better. "I guess..." he stared down at his hands for a moment before drawing in a long breath through his nose. "Dining hall?"

Taylor smiled, making the corner of his blue eyes crinkle. He clapped Blaine heavily on the back. "Dining hall."

"Is-is that the ceiling, or... is that the sky?"

Taylor laughed. "It's charmed, Blaine. It shows the sky outside."

Blaine made a small sound of wonder as he continued to stare up at the enchanted ceiling like a child trying to count stars. Taylor shouted across the hall to Jeff, who was flailing his arms broadly over his head to flag down the two boys. "This is the Gryffindor table."

Ultimately, Blaine was shoved in between Taylor and a red-headed and thoroughly freckled Third Year, who blushed brightly when Blaine smiled down at her. Looking down the long table, Blaine noticed a few students he saw in the Common area back in Gryffindor Tower. Looking down the other way, he saw Nick making Jeff choke on his pumpkin juice as he snorted a pasta noodle until it poked out his other nostril. Then he began pulling on each end, going cross-eyed. Blaine scrunched up his nose in dislike. That _can't _be good for your nose...

From across the table, Blaine heard a soft scoff of disgust. He looked up. A creamy-skinned, lithe brunette with perfectly styled hair was mirroring Blaine's face, scrunching up his nose cutely. The boy shook his head and made another face before going back to nibbling at his own food. He bit his bottom lip as he twirled some pasta around his fork, and Blaine blushed as he felt himself staring. Trying to quickly look down at his own plate, he coughed awkwardly. That only made the boy in front of him look up. His eyes were a pale, brilliant blue. Grey struck through the blue iris', like the sky on a day that wasn't quite cloudless. They flickered across Blaine's face briefly before settling back onto his hazel eyes. Something lit up inside Blaine's stomach when the boy locked gazes with him once again, making a warm, tingly feeling spread through his chest.

Blaine swallowed thickly and prepared to open his mouth to introduce himself, but Headmistress McGonagall drew everyone's attention to the front of the hall with a call for silence.

"Welcome, students, to another year at Hogwarts. For some of you, it may be your first, and to you, I would like to offer you our hospitality and assistance. First and foremost, I wish to tell each new student that the Forbidden Forest is absolutely off limits to all, unless accompanied by a teacher. Also, the use of magic in the halls is not tolerated by..."

After the long introductory speech, the young witches and wizards launched back into their chatter and feasting. Even as Blaine tried to get into the conversation Taylor attempted to drag him into, his thoughts and his eyes kept wandering back to boy across the table. After several disguised peeks at the quiet boy, Blaine noticed his blue and silver tie. If he was belonged to Ravenclaw House, why was he sitting with the Gryffindors?

The Ravenclaw murmured something to the boy sitting next to him, a tan, brown-eyed teenager with very short brown hair that flipped skyward in the front, like he constantly carded his fingers through his hair. He nodded and smiled, and the blue-eyed Ravenclaw stood, kissing him on the cheek. The tan boy caught his wrist as he attempted to walk away, bringing him back. The Ravenclaw rolled his eyes and grinned, leaning down to place a firm kiss on the other boy's lips. They shared a brief, private smile before Beautiful-Blue-Eyed-Ravenclaw-Boy walked back to join the rest of the students in his house.

Blaine leaned over and tapped Taylor on the shoulder. "Hey, Tay?"

Taylor looked back to Blaine, stifling a laugh caused by an idiotic joke that David told moments before. "Yeah, B?"

"Who's that guy?" Blaine jerked his head in the direction of the short-haired Gryffindor across from him.

"Him? That's Nathan Burke." Nathan was attempting to lick of the remanence of pumpkin juice off of his upperlip, not looking particularly intelligent. "He's the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team." Taylor glared, "He's also the dumbest twat you'll ever meet. He's, uh, dating Kurt Hummel."

Blaine furrowed his brow. "Kurt Hummel?"

"Yeah," Taylor half-sighed. "Tall, beautiful eyes, perfect hair... Nice arse, I have to add."

"Is he in Gryffindor?" Blaine asked, feeling everything start to slip into place.

"Nope. Sadly, that gorgeous boy was sorted into Ravenclaw. I only have Potions with him, and jesus, he's the smartest-" Taylor sighed and shook his head. "But he never even notices me."

"So," Blaine said slowly, "Kurt Hummel is the guy you keep telling me about?"

Taylor nodded.

"Hey, Clark!" Someone across the table shouted in a thick, authentic Scottish accent.

Taylor looked up, annoyed. _"What, _Burke._"_

Burke smirked. "I heard you're planning on trying out for the team this year."

Immediately, a blush crawled up Taylor's neck. "M-Maybe. I practiced a lot this summer. You might just be surprised at how easily I'll be able to kick everyone's ass during tryouts."

It wasn't a secret that Taylor was rubbish at Quidditch. Blaine actually felt a little sorry for him. Taylor loved the sport to death; he was a die-hard fan of the Tornadoes. But he just couldn't fly gracefully, no matter how hard he tried. It was true though, he had been practicing that summer, so Blaine wasn't sure if his friend had actually improved or if he was just talking himself up. Blaine, sadly, guessed the latter.

Burke laughed, and then stood from the table with a group of athletic-looking boys. "I'll believe the impossible when I see it, Clark."

Taylor fumed, glowering at Burke as he walked away, laughing obnoxiously with his group of friends.

"Hey," Blaine laid his hand on Taylor's arm, "C'mon. Let's go back to the Commons and play some wizard chess, yeah?"

His friend glared after Nathan fiercely as he walked over to the Ravenclaw table, smacking an obscene kiss on Kurt's lips. Eventually, Taylor nodded. "Okay."

The walk back to Gryffindor Tower was short and quiet. The halls were shadowed in grey, while the sky outside was a dark blue. It vaguely reminded Blaine of his uniform back at Dalton.

"So..." he said, after a long silence. "You really like that Kurt guy, huh?"

Taylor shrugged. "Yeah. I have for a while. And I really... I really don't think Burke deserves him. It just pisses me off whenever I see them together," he sulked.

"Plenty fish in the sea, when a door closes a window opens, etcetera etcetera..." Blaine grinned, earning a smile from his friend.

They continued to walk in silence until they reached the nearly deserted common room. The dorms were empty and dark, and as the two stepped inside, Taylor yawned.

"I think," he said, his voice distorted from the yawn, "that I'm just gonna go to bed, actually." Taylor looked up at Blaine, who was getting his pajamas out of his trunk. "I hope you don't mind."

"No," Blaine held up his nightshirt with a smile, "I'll just call it a day, too. I'm beat. Anxiety really takes it out of you, I don't know how some people do it, honestly."

Taylor laughed and changed into his pajamas as well. Once he was in his PJ's, Blaine crawled into bed and curled up under the comfortable cherry-colored blankets.

The room fell silent, and Blaine was reminded of the sleepovers he used to have with Taylor when they were younger. It was a certain silence that was very easily to listen to, but it just begged to be broken. Really, Blaine mused, it wasn't silence after all. The quiet was really just filled with thoughts instead of spoken words.

"... Blaine?" Of course, silence was made to be broken.

"Yeah?"

Taylor paused. "Nevermind." Momentarily, quiet fell again. "I'm glad that you relaxed so much at the feast. You looked normal again. It was worrying me for a bit, the rate that you were freaking out."

"I wasn't freaking out," Blaine scoffed, "I was just... tense. But," Blaine's thoughts flickered back to the boy across the table, Kurt, "I think I'll be alright here."

"Yeah?" The blankets rustled as Taylor turned over to peek though the bronze hangings around his bed at Blaine.

Blaine looked back to his friend and smiled. "Yeah."

Taylor returned his smile. Then, he took off his glasses and set them on his nightstand. "Goodnight, Blaine." Taylor drew the hangings closed and rolled over.

"G'night, Tay."

Today had been a little rough on Blaine. He was officially leaving his friends, his brother Cooper, and the rest of his family behind to study at Hogwarts. But, Blaine doubted he would ever be able to go back to Dalton. It just wasn't something he could... handle. But, Hogwarts was... Hogwarts was okay. It was big and old, and certainly different from what he was used to, but Blaine could manage. He could adapt. And, who knows, he might actually survive his classes the following day.


	2. Chapter 2

Finally. Finally, Kurt was back to one of the few places he could define as his home. He'd been patiently waiting for September to approach, for the last days of Summer to sneak up on him, and for Autumn to take it's place. Now here he was, in his second to last year of Hogwarts, and he couldn't have been happier. Of course, he loved his family and usually went home on important holiday breaks, but Hogwarts was where he was growing, learning, and loving. Not to mention, Hogwarts was the home of the well known Harry Potter. Harry Potter had graduated nearly twenty-five years before Kurt was even admitted into Hogwarts, but Kurt felt a surge of pride whenever he remembered that he was in the school whose students came together to defeat Lord Voldemort.

Kurt remembered when he first got the acceptance letter. He always knew that he was different, that he wasn't like his parents. Kurt was only ten or eleven at the time, but he remembered the moment vividly. When his parents first received the letter, they only laughed and thought it was merely a joke. However, letters from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry began to appear more and more frequently at their doorstep, worrying Mr. and Mrs. Hudson-Hummel. Things were sorted out in a matter of weeks when an elderly wizard approached their family and informed them that Kurt was, much to their disbelief and surprise, a wizard. It took convincing, but they came to terms with it. Kurt was absolutely ecstatic when he learned the strange and amazing truth. A wizard? Kurt could have only dreamed of such strange things.

Kurt's first year of Hogwarts arrived and in his first hours into school, he was sorted into Ravenclaw by the magical sorting hat, (the same hat Harry Potter himself wore!) The hat sung a song about the admirable traits of each house. The ceiling of the large dining hall was enchanted so you could glance up at the sky in between bites, which was sometimes dark and billowing with lightning or clear, idyll and calm. Being raised by Muggles, everything was so much to take in.

Of course, there were people in other houses and sometimes even in his house who were raised, even now, to believe that witches and wizards who were born from non-magical humans, or as they taunted him, Mudbloods, were disgusting. Kurt admitted, it hurt him, but he had great friends who stood up for him and he was thankful.

In time, Kurt grew older and realized more things that defined him today. Luckily, in the wizarding world, sexuality was just a minor character trait, and when he declared himself to be gay, his friends only told him that they knew and to pass the cranberries down.

Now, Kurt couldn't believe that his time here was almost up, so he savored the moment he woke up, cradling his pillow in his hands, and tried to save this memory to his head. The memory of waking up in the greatest place he could imagine.

"Kurt, breakfast has already started. I can smell the muffins." Kurt's Ravenclaw friend, Reed, nudged him on the shoulder. Kurt revealed his face from under the pillow and glanced at Reed.

"I'm trying to make a memory, Reed," he said, as if it was obvious.

"Kurt, you've done this like every morning for the past few years. I think enough memories about how comfortable the beds are have been made," Reed sighed, walking to the mirror and examining his freckled face and wild strawberry-blonde hair.

"You can never have enough memories about this place."

A pointless argument and lots of hair product later, Kurt and Reed strolled into the dining hall. Kurt looked up at the candlelit ceiling. It looked like today was one of those beautiful sunny-with-a-breeze days. Perfect.

Kurt made his way to the packed seats of Ravenclaw, sitting down with Reed at the ancient tables. Food had already magically appeared on the table and Kurt dug right in, making sure to go easy on the delicious-smelling ham that just so happened to lay directly in front of him. "Have you talked to Cole recently?" Kurt teased Reed.

Reed's eyes widened and he blushed bright red, ducking his face from anyone sitting in near him.

"No. No, I haven't," he said weakly, avoiding any eye contact with Kurt.

A few seconds later Kurt burst out into giggles. He loved teasing Reed, which was a bit cruel on his part, but could you blame him? Making Reed think about Cole, his crush, was hilarious.

"Stop laughing! You know he doesn't actually like me back, this crush is pointless. It's- It's awkward."

"If you say so."

Kurt continued to munch on is food, which consisted of eggs, muffins and ham. Suddenly, Nathan Burke, Kurt's boyfriend of seven months, wandered into the Dining Hall, his eyes lacking signs of sleep. He tapped Kurt on the shoulder.

"Hey, babe," Nathan said nonchalantly. He yawned, leaned down next to Kurt and kissed him sloppily, making sure nearly everyone at the Ravenclaw house saw him. They did.

Kurt flushed a bit when they broke apart. "Hey. You look like shit, what happened?"

Nathan moaned in discomfort. "Some of the Gryffindors and I might have found a few drinks last night." And with a mumble that sounded like 'This fucking light,' Nathan

shuffled over to the Gryffindor house, sat down, and shoved two pieces of ham in is mouth.

Charming.

It's not that Kurt didn't really like Nathan. I mean he did, he liked him enough to date him; to fool around with him, even. However, the disoriented Gryffindor lacked that 'let-me-hold-the-door-open-for-you' sort of appeal, the attractive gentleman quality. Perhaps one day Nathan would finally hold that characteristic, but for now Kurt would just have to wait and hope.

A loud laugh erupted from the Gryffindor table, breaking Kurt (who was subconsciously picking at his raspberry muffin) out of his thoughts. The boy whom was looking at Kurt last night had spilled his pumpkin juice everywhere, onto his robes, even. The boy looked horrified and embarrassed. "Good going, newbie," Nathan snickered, his friends following suit. Kurt didn't even see the big deal, it was just a spill.

"Shut up, Nathan," Taylor muttered as he searched the table for napkins.

"Make me, Clark."

Kurt felt bad for the boy, and he didn't exactly know what caused him to be this kind to a stranger, but he got out of his seat next to the murmuring Ravenclaws and walked over to the Gryffindors, until he was across the table from the flustered kid.

"Hi, Kurt!" Taylor's tone brightened as he saw the beautiful boy.

Kurt acknowledged Taylor with a quick wave.

"I really don't see the need to overreact," Kurt said as he pulled his wand from his robe. "Scourgify." Kurt mumbled, flicking his wand over the spilled juice. In the blink of an eye, the mess was gone, and the boys robes were good as new.

The curly haired boy blinked stupidly. "Th-thanks," he said quietly.

Kurt shoved his wand back in his pockets and walked back into his seat, finishing up his scrumptious breakfast, while talking to Reed about new robe designs. When the plate magically disappeared into who-knows-where, he looked back at the Gryffindor table. The boy- with his deep hazel eyes- was staring at Kurt. Not creepily, not in a flirtatious way, either. He was just studying Kurt's features. He seemed to notice that Kurt was beginning to stare back, and he cheeks brightened. Kurt gave a tender smile and headed up to his first class, thinking about the stranger.

~~~

Transfiguration had always been one of Kurt's strong suits, next to Charms. He always had a knack for it, and always performed well on tests, which he was thankful for. Today, Professor McGonagall had decided to polish their old skills up.

"Welcome back, students. I trust you all have brought 'Guide To Advanced Transfiguration'?" McGonagall began.

The class murmured back a tired, "Yes, Professor."

"Today, we are starting small. But as the year proceeds, larger tasks will be at hand. Sixth year is when we learn Human Transfiguration, a skill that requires all of your focus and concentration..." Professor McGonagall lectured the class about the previous lessons they've had, and about the importance of safety in her classes.

The two-person desks filled the center of the room in organized columns. Kurt was paired up with an excitable Hufflepuff, who spent her time doodling in the margins of her textbook. He glanced behind him and saw Reed, whose cheeks were burning bright, sitting next to Cole, and smirked. Reed shot him dagger-eyes.

Kurt's attention to the front of the class was soon gone, and he studied the space around him. Large cylinder-like cages hung to the sides of the room, which sometimes contained the animals that were to be transfigured. The walls were oval-shaped had a pillar-like pattern that ran across the entirety of the room. In the front, a large desk overlooked the class, interesting and mysterious objects laying out in the open. On either side of the large wooden desk, clean chalkboards stood untouched.

"Mr. Hummel, I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Professor McGonagall said dryly, snapping Kurt out of observations.

"N-No, Professor..." Kurt stammered

"Swell. Now can you please tell me the spell that is used to create a duplicate of something or someone?" McGonagall said, staring him down.

Kurt racked his brain for any sources of information, but no such luck came to him. Great way to start off the year, not paying attention, Kurt thought. "I forget..." he mumbled.

"Geminio, Hummel. However- This spell only lasts for a few hours. If you were to cast this spell upon an object with magical properties, what would happen?"

Professor McGonagall targeted another bored student who decided that making a feather levitate on his desk was much more interesting than listening to the lecture.

Twenty minutes later, the sixth years were up on their feet, transfiguring buttons into sturdy mugs. Kurt was the first to succeed.

From where he was standing, Kurt could see Cole chatting about delicious Butterbeer in The Three Broomsticks, and Reed attempting to reply without showing his reddened cheeks. Ah, young love, Kurt thought.

Kurt had forgotten how energy consuming his classes at Hogwarts could be. By his fourth period, Kurt was dragging his feet up the stairs to get to Defence Against the Dark Arts.

He entered the crowded classroom with books in hand and sat down hurriedly in the only open seat, next to curly haired boy from breakfast. Professor Teddy Lupin rose from his seat at the corner of the room and cleared his throat. His styled green hair was a sharp contrast to his fair skin, and today, he had chosen to have piercing, ice blue blue eyes. He gave a small smile to all of his students, who were now paying close attention to the Professor. With of flick of his wand, the chalk from behind him scrolled on the chalkboard. In perfect penmanship, the word Boggart was formed.

"Welcome back, students. I am Professor Lupin, however, most of you already knew that. For the first few weeks, we'll be learning again about boggarts, as they have to do with future subjects." The lanky twenty-something teacher strode elegantly to the front of his class, his hands clasped behind his back. Lupin turned to face his students. "As we did in fourth year, we are each going to face a boggart. This one was caught in the kitchens!" Lupin said happily. "Is there anyone who needs a bit of help refreshing their memory about the spell?"

There were no responses at first. But slowly, the boy next to Kurt put up his hand. "Professor? I'm new here, a-and I've never faced a boggart before."

A few Gryffindor boys in the back snickered.

"Ah, of course. Blaine, isn't it? Blaine, you can work with Kurt, next to you. He'll catch you up."

A few minutes later and they were all standing in a line, facing a beat-up wooden wardrobe. Kurt, back in his Fourth Year, had thought this funny. It was almost a metaphor; each student's distinct apprehension coming out from the armoire, making each person face the fear they tucked away the most. The nightmare they each kept hidden from sight in the closet. Kurt turned the boy, Blaine.

The boys exchanged a quick handshake. "Hi, I'm Kurt. Kurt Hummel." He smiled.

"Blaine Anderson," he said back. "So, what are these things?"

"So, boggarts are basically shape-shifters, and when they come across you, they change into your biggest fear. When you face it, you have to think of something funny, say 'Riddikulus' and it turns into the funny thing. The process is a bit hard to explain, but you'll get it after you see a few people do it. It's... not exactly pleasant, especially facing one in the middle of class, but you get through it," Kurt explained.

"H-Have you done it before?" Blaine asked quietly, looking up at Kurt.

"Yeah. The image was- it was nothing too scary. It just brought up bad memories."

There was a long pause before Blaine finally spoke up. "Hey, thanks for helping me out this morning."

Kurt glanced over at Blaine with a half-smile. "It's no problem, Blaine."

Things like ghosts, chimpanzees, spiders and zombies all crawled out of the wardrobe, and as the line got shorter, Kurt began to feel more anxious.

"Hummel! You're up," Professor Lupin said as Kurt walked to the front the class, facing the door. He gulped and exhaled.

What was going to come crawling out of the chest this time?

"Ready?" Lupin asked.

Kurt nodded and braced himself as Lupin threw open the doors.

In a flash, the Boggart took shape of his father laying on a hospital bed, a heart monitor steadily beating next to him. His father was pale, arms to his side. He wore the generic hospital gown and looked rather uncomfortable on the bed. The color drained from Kurt's face. No. No. This had happened last time, too. Kurt's breathing sped up, but he managed to pull his wand out in front of him. Suddenly, the heart monitor began to beat rapidly, quicker and quicker, faster and faster until...

A long, strident note erupted from the machine.

Just in time, Kurt had pointed his wand out at his fathers body and yelled, "Riddikulus!" The boggart morphed into a clown.

Kurt was breathing hard, stepping to the side of the classroom to let Blaine have his turn. Everyone was staring at him. Kurt only looked at his feet. Others had such childish fears compared to his own.

Lupin looked to Kurt as well, his (now fuchsia) eyes asking if he was okay. Kurt only nodded, wrapping his arms around his torso.

Attention turned on to Blaine as he prepared his wand for his boggart. Lupin swung the doors of the closet open.

In little seconds, ropes flew out of the cabinet and wrapped around Blaine's wrists. Blaine's eyes nearly popped out of his head, fear radiating out of every pore. Chains slithered across the floor and tangled up his legs, causing him to fall to the ground. They started wrapping up his arms, and Blaine's wand clattered helplessly to his side. The bindings curled around his chest and swaddled his entire body, and abruptly, they winded around his neck. Blaine trembled, eyes watering. The chains and ropes lurched forward, beginning to pull Blaine to the closet.

"Riddikulus!"

Kurt pointed his wand at the shifted boggart surrounding Blaine. With a pop, a large teddy bear engulfed Blaine.

Kurt was still breathing heavily. What the hell was that all about? Ropes? Chains?

Moments later, Blaine appeared, head between knees. He was sniffling. Crying, it sounded like.

"Mr. Anderson?" A stunned Professor Lupin cautiously approached the sixteen year old. "Blaine."

He lifted his head slightly, just enough to see his teary eyes.

"Why don't you go back to your dormitory?"

Within five seconds, Blaine nodded, picked himself off of the ground and dashed out of the room.

It was dead silent. Looks of 'What the fuck just happened?' and 'I feel so bad for him...' were circulating around the classroom.

Kurt stared at the doorway. There was something about that Blaine Anderson, something he liked. Something pitied and something he wanted to know more about. And it was because of those three reasons that he quickly picked up his things and followed Blaine right out of the classroom without an explanation, with two disturbing memories on his mind.


	3. Chapter 3

(okay, I understand that I broke a transfiguration rule a little ways into the chapter by creating food, but just for the point of the moment lets accept it, yeah?)

Tears stung painfully in Blaine's eyes as he sprinted down the hall, intent on trying to outrun his embarrassment. God, why hadn't he just... refuse to face the boggart or something? Why hadn't he just made up an excuse? With the thoughts of what his classmates must think of him now running through his head, Blaine increased his speed, ran up a flight of stairs and he nearly tripped on his long robes as he scrubbed furiously at his eyes.

After several minutes of running, Blaine grew tired, and as he slowed down he noticed that he really didn't recognize any of the paintings or statues around him. Soon, he realized with a loud, frustrated growl that he was completely and utterly lost. Blaine wandered mindlessly in the empty halls, sniffling pitifully as his stubborn tears continued to streak down his face.

Everyone in Professor Lupin's class must think Blaine was a freak now... Taylor had mentioned how fast gossip spread through Hogwarts before. By the end of the day, Blaine guessed, everyone would know about the childish breakdown he had suffered through. And jesus christ, he didn't even stop the boggart himself! Kurt Hummel had to save him, like a fucking fairytale princess in a Disney movie. The thought made Blaine wrinkle his nose in shame. He should be stronger than this. What would his brother say if he had seen what a weak little boy Blaine had been? Tears pooled in his eyes once again, threatening to spill over. Suddenly, students began to trickle into the halls, and Blaine began to panic. The last thing he needed was to have some random student come up to him and ask him why he was crying.

Rounding a corner as quickly as possible while still appearing casual, Blaine spotted the door to a supply closet. More and more young wizards grouped in the corridors, so out of sheer desperation to be out sight, Blaine hurried and ducked into the chamber.

He swung the door shut in the blink of an eye, resting his forehead against the wooden door as he sighed. Praying that no one would find him, Blaine turned around, running a hand through his loose curls, and froze.

Tall, tall stone ceilings that stretched about as high as the Dining Hall roof stood above him. Slender windows that let in bright light were lined against the stone walls. Underfoot, polished black and white granite tiles patterned themselves across the floor, and directly in front of Blaine, two black leather couches sat at an angle in front of a posh, white granite fireplace. A fire was already burning

warmly in the hearth.

Blaine blinked stupidly, jaw slack in confusion.

"What... the actual fuck..." This was certainly not a supply closet. Where in god's name was he? Blaine cautiously walked over to one of the sofas. He blinked, and a wrought iron lattice table appeared in front of the fireplace, in between the couches. On it, sat a box with a delicate tissue poking out of the top.

Slowly, Blaine sunk down onto the leather couch. He paused again, this time suspiciously looking around the room to see if anyone was with him. Finding no one, Blaine hesitantly reached for a tissue before dabbing his eyes gently. _They must be so puffy and gross... _he thought. The fire crackled, and Blaine felt more and more relaxed. Small birds flew about, playing tag high in the rafters, and the light enveloped the room in a soft, comforting glow. Blaine curled up on the couch after a while, coming down from the emotional high he had miserably endured earlier. The couch smelled intriguingly similar to his mother's perfume, causing Blaine to contently melt even further into the leather. Feeling positively exhausted, he closed his eyes.

"Blaine?"

"GAH!" Blaine shot upright, flailing his arms as he kicked randomly in surprise.

Kurt Hummel stood a few feet away from the couches, with a look in his eyes that suggested he was second-guessing his decision to go out and find Blaine. "S-sorry to scare you, I didn't do it on purpose..."

Blaine's breathing leveled out, and he regained some composure. Shifting into a normal sitting position, his eyes never left Kurt's. Kurt bit his lip, seeing the defensive look in his new classmate's eyes. After several moments of silence, Blaine spoke up, his voice small and childlike. "Are you here to make fun of me? Beat me up for crying in the middle of class? B-because I think I could take y-"

"No no no," Kurt was taken aback, waving his hands in front of him as he reassured Blaine that he wasn't there to be mean. "I-I was just... wondering if you were okay."

Blaine's eyes were hard, unlike when Kurt first saw them at the feast the previous night, and his stare was knifelike and calculating, a far cry from his studious gaze at breakfast. Kurt suddenly wished he didn't have to see Blaine look at him like that, so he stared down at his feet instead.

"Where are we?" Blaine asked quietly.

Kurt looked up and saw that Blaine was focusing his eyes on the high rafters above them, where little warblers twittered happily. "We're in the Room of Requirement. It-it's a shapeshifting room," Kurt explained, "kind of like a boggart, but instead of turning into a fear, it turns into the place you need to be the most. You can change it with your mind, I've heard."

Blaine glanced back at Kurt and raised an eyebrow. "Magic, huh. The ruddy weird things it can do never ceases to amaze me."

Kurt smiled a little bit. Whether or not it was because the softness in Blaine's eyes was returning or because the truth behind Blaine's words was so relatable, he didn't know. "I like it, the room. It's very airy."

It was Blaine's turn to smile. "My dad's office used to look like this. I always liked it, I guess."

Slowly, Kurt surreptitiously inched his way over to the sofa Blaine was sitting at, until he hesitantly sat down beside the boy. Blaine showed no signs that he disapproved, so Kurt relaxed a bit into the cushions. One of the birds glided down from the ceiling and landed on the table, cocking it's head to look at Kurt and Blaine.

"Aw..." Kurt cooed, offering a finger to the bird. The yellow bird chirped brightly and hopped onto Kurt's finger before continuing its twittery song.

Blaine smiled. He concentrated hard, taking Kurt's words about the ability to change the room with his mind into account, and a small bowl of M&M's appeared in front of them. Kurt smiled and thought for a second, and two glasses of butterbeer materialized next to the bowl. Earning a grin from Blaine, Kurt returned it and reached for one of the glasses. The bird chirped and took flight from his hand, soaring back up to join his friends.

Casually, Kurt and Blaine set into an easy conversation. Kurt was actually amazed at how intelligent Blaine was, and wondered to himself why he was sorted into Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw. Blaine sat with the small of his back pressed onto the armrest of the couch, sipping slowly at his butterbeer as they discussed all sorts of things.

Blaine learned that Kurt's mother had died when he was only eight years old. That explained why the boggart had turned into his father. Burt, Blaine was told his name was, was Kurt's only surviving biological parent. Kurt told Blaine about Carole, but Blaine understood why Kurt was concerned about losing his father along with his mother, even if he would still have a step parent.

After a couple hours, Blaine was laughing easily with Kurt, joking like he would only with Taylor or Shane or Cooper. Kurt suddenly looked a little nervous, and he finally asked the question that had been on his mind for the past hour. "Why- um, what happened in D.A.D.A?" he asked gingerly.

"What do you mean?" Blaine chuckled, taking a sip of his drink.

Kurt shifted in his seat awkwardly. "I mean, um, why did-why did the boggart... frighten you so much?"

Blaine remained silent, his jaw tightened and he stared into his cup.

"It-it's okay. You don't have to tell me," Kurt said quickly, not wanting Blaine to close him off again. "I was just... concerned. You don't seem like the kind of person to be scared that easily."

"I wasn't scared," Blaine snapped fiercely, looking defensive. Really, he was angry at himself for appearing so undynamic in front of his classmates and Kurt. What Blaine had said wasn't completely true, he had actually been terrified during the lesson. The feeling of being bound and falling to the ground was startlingly familiar, and it brought back memories that Blaine wished he could just Banish from his mind permanently. Shaking his head, Blaine sighed. "We should go. It-it's getting dark. I don't think it's a very good idea to be skipping classes on the first day of school."

"I'm sure your teachers will understand," Kurt said quietly.

Blaine looked sharply at him. "I don't need anyone to give me time off. I'm okay, and I don't need you to be cooing at me like I'm a newborn Hippogriff."

Kurt took a sip of his butterbeer so Blaine wouldn't be able to see the hurt in his eyes. Kurt had just been concerned. Watching Blaine break down so easily in class was unsettling, and any normal person would be worried about him. Being snapped at for being kind wasn't something Kurt was used to, and quite honestly it hurt his feelings. After a few breaths, Kurt nodded. "You're right. We should be going. I'm pretty sure classes have ended, though."

The curly-haired boy nodded and stood. Kurt followed suit. Together, they walked out of the Room of Requirement, and right into a bustling flood of students. Classes had indeed ended; just moments before. The halls were now filled with noisy students, excited to talk about their first days back at the school.

"Jesus," Blaine muttered after being bumped by the shoulder of a passing girl who paid no attention to him.

Something tightened on his arm. Blaine looked down to see that Kurt had grabbed his wrist. "It's so crowded..."

Suddenly, a loud shout was heard above the noise. "Kurt!" Nathan stormed over to the two boys, looking furious. "Who the _hell _is he? And why weren't you in class today? Were you with him all day?"

"You don't remember him? You laughed at him this morning for spilling pumpkin juice all over the table." Nathan was still glaring at Blaine as if he was trying to make the transfer student's head explode with his mind. "His name is Blaine. Blaine Anderson."

"Wait- Blaine Anderson? Wasn't-isn't he the guy who had a full-on mental breakdown in Defense?" Nathan asked incredulously. Blaine bristled. "Why are you with _him_? Most importantly, why are you coming out of the Room of Requirement with him?"

"Not everyone goes in there just to make out, Nathaniel."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He turned to Blaine. "Listen," he murmured menacingly, face just inches away from Blaine's. Blaine stared him down, despite the slight height difference, "I don't want you getting the wrong idea. Kurt, he's mine. Get it through that thick broccoli-haired head of yours, okay?" Nathan's voice easily slipped into a crude, mocking tone, "I don't care if he came to comfort you because you were cwying wike an ickle baby," he smirked as Blaine's jaw tightened. "No more sneaking off with him, if you don't want me to cut off your junk while you sleep, yeah?" Nathan smiled and demeaningly patted Blaine's cheek.

Kurt glared at him. "Not every guy I'm friends with is-"

"Kurt, c'mon, let's go," Nathan broke off, grabbing Kurt's pale hand.

"No, Nathan, listen-"

"No," Blaine interrupted softly. His eyes never left Nathan's smirk. Blaine's voice was quiet and calm, oily and biting, "Wouldn't want you to be seen with a sniffling little pussy like me, right? Besides, Kurt. You're _his_. I don't want to mess with the obviously _perfect _relationship you guys have going. I think I'll just go and cry some more."

Nathan's smirk broadened and he began to walk away, Kurt following uneagerly. He glanced back at Blaine, hurt shining in his eyes. Kurt opened his mouth to shout something out to Blaine, but Nathan silenced him by putting an arm around his shoulders, catching his attention as he guided Kurt around a corner and out of sight.

Taylor walked towards the Fat Lady with David. "I'm just saying, I'm kind of jealous of Professor Lupin."

"Why?" David asked incredulously. The professor _was _an orphan after all, and he lived at the school, which didn't sound too great.

"Because," Taylor said obviously, "he's an Metamorphmagus."

David gave Taylor a deadpan stare. "Really."

"What?" The blonde turned to the portrait, "Emerald frost." the Fat Lady swung open, and they climbed through. "Being a Metamorphmagus would be the best thing ever!"

"David!" Wes hailed the Keeper from where he was sitting by the hearth. David flashed Taylor an apologetic glance before hurrying to Wes' side.

"Okay!" Taylor hollered after him, "fine! Just leave me here! I had better things to do anyway!" He dramatically huffed towards the staircase, sarcastically throwing behind him, "I guess this means we aren't cuddling tonight!"

An eruption of laughter burst from behind him as Taylor ran up the stairs.

That day had been... surprisingly normal. In first period, he had fallen asleep during one of Trelawney's ramblings and awoke an hour and a half later to find the classroom empty. Apparently, the professor had never even noticed he was asleep, causing him to be late to third period. When he arrived thirty minutes late to Charms, Flitwick gave him extra homework, but from then on, Taylor's day was graciously uneventful. However, he did notice that Kurt hadn't been in Potions that day...

Taylor bit his lip. He hoped everything was okay. Kurt had never missed a Potions class since he broke his arm trying out for Quidditch Fourth Year. He turned the golden handle and walked into the dormitories. It was dark, save a few candles on the windowsill. The room looked empty, so Taylor walked over to the window and stared outside into the pouring rain. The weather had changed drastically that day, going from sunny to brooding and dark. Taylor liked the rain, though. It was soothing and peaceful, a pleasant contrast to the thundering clouds that rumbled deeply above the school.

"Hey, Taylor."

Taylor sucked in a sharp breath, breaking out of his contemplative mind, and turned abruptly to face the column of beds to his left. Blaine was laying on his back in the bottom bunk, ridden of his robes, levitating the ring his older brother gave him before his transfer into the air, and then back down to rest on his stomach. Blaine's expression was blank and apathetic, reminding Taylor of the distant phase Blaine went through the year prior to his move to Hogwarts. Blaine's strange, disconnected attitude had almost cost the two their friendship.

"What's up?" Taylor asked quietly.

Blaine continued to raise and lower the ring in the air wordlessly. Finally, he spoke up. "I'm fine. Bad day."

"What happened?" the blonde moved to sit on the bed by Blaine's ankles. Blaine's expressionless face continued to make Taylor worry; he didn't want his best friend to grow distant with him again.

Blaine's voice was soft, making him sound downcast and trodden, "Bad time in Defense." The ring floated up, and back down. "I had a bloody meltdown. Tears and everything. Everyone's going to think I'm-I'm a freak or something... Kurt Hummel spent the day with me, though... He's rather sweet. We cut all day, but I don't really care that much right now."

Shooting Blaine a half-glance, Taylor began picking at the bedspread. Kurt had been with Blaine all day? "Tears? What made you so- erm- upset?"

"Boggart," Blaine answered shortly.

"Oh..." was Taylor's awkward response. "Um... So... Me and the guys were planning on going out to the Quidditch pitch after dinner. Wanna come?" Blaine was brilliant at the sport, but never took to playing it. Even though Taylor knew his friend wouldn't want to participate in a game, it was worth a shot to at least get him doing something. Anything. The composed look on Blaine's face was starting to unsettle him a little bit.

"No. I'll just stay here. Thanks though." Blaine slipped the ring back around his middle finger, taking a second to admire the Anderson crest emblazoned in the metal before heavily dropping his hand back onto his stomach.

Taylor twiddled his thumbs. "Alright... Well... I'm gonna go to the Dining Hall. Hope you feel better, mate..." He stood and made for the door before casting a look back at his friend. Blaine was staring at the bottom of the bed above him, aimlessly twirling his wand between his fingers. With a sigh, Taylor opened the door and walked down the stairs, re-entering the commons.

Blaine had the right to be in a bad mood. What happened earlier that day sounded horrible... Taylor himself would rather bunk with Filch rather than live through that kind of embarrassment. But why did he get the sense that something was off? That something bigger, something more important and urgent than just shedding a few tears in Defense was what Blaine was really concerned about? Taylor shook his head. Blaine would tell him if something was truly wrong.

"Ready to go?" David hopped up energetically, followed by Wes, Trent, Jeff, Nick, and few other Gryffindors Taylor had yet to introduce to Blaine. They all walked to lunch, laughing and shoving. Nick tripped and fell, and Taylor momentarily forgot about Blaine and his careless expression.

"Kurt, why won't you talk to me?" Nathan hurried to keep up with his boyfriend as Kurt rushed away into the Dining Hall.

"Because," Kurt snapped waspishly, "you're being a jerk lately, Nathan. I want to be alone for three seconds. Is that okay?"

Nathan floundered for a second before Kurt ran off again to the Ravenclaw table. "Kurt!" Nathan hastily sped over to the table, where Kurt was sitting in between Lily Luna and Reed Van Kamp. "Kurt, is this about that Blaine kid? Because-"

"Partially, yes," Kurt explained sharply, "but I also need my space. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Nathan scowled. "... You know what, fine. But don't come back to me if you get lonely tonight. I'll see you, Kurt."

After Nathan sauntered off to sit with the Gryffindor jocks, Reed turned to Kurt. "Why are you even with him anymore, Kurt? He's, well, kind a douchebag..."

Kurt sighed and glanced across the hall to Nathan, who was moodily poking at his food. "I really like him. Can we just leave it at that?"

Lily rubbed his shoulder soothingly and took a bite of ham. For the next few minutes, neither of Kurt's friends made any type of attempt to start up a conversation. They both knew how irritable Kurt got when he and Nathan were in the midst of a fight.

Suddenly (and quite loudly), a group of six or seven boys tumbled into the hall, exploding with laughter. Their crimson and gold ties stuck out against the black of their uniform robes, and they made it clear that they were intent on living up to the Gryffindor stereotype of being obnoxiously earsplitting and boyish. Kurt furrowed his brow; he recognized some of those boys from the Quidditch practices he had gone to because of Nathan. There was David, Wes and Jeff, and a blonde-haired boy with stylish black glasses. Oh, Kurt recognized that boy too. That was Taylor Clark. They had bonded briefly over their mutual love for fashion in Fourth Year and shared a Potions class, but apart from that, Kurt didn't know Taylor very well. Taylor peeked over in Kurt's direction, and blushed across the tips of his ears when he noticed Kurt's gaze.

Wasn't Taylor Blaine's friend? Yes, Blaine had mentioned Clark quite a bit when they shared the day in the Room of Requirement. If Taylor was Blaine's best friend, why wasn't Blaine with them?

"Hey," Kurt tilted his head towards Lily, "I'll be right back."

He stood and made his way down the aisle to the Gryffindor table. Nathan looked up expectantly as Kurt passed him, but his face fell when the Ravenclaw strode right past him and up to Taylor.

"Taylor?" Kurt spoke primly in the Gryffindor's ear, trying to gain his attention.

Taylor turned to face Kurt, promptly breaking out into a slightly manic grin. "Yeah?"

Jeff and Nick snickered behind him as Taylor's ears turned bright red. "I was wondering if I could talk to you for a second?" Kurt asked.

"What?" Taylor looked stunned for a second before gruffly clearing his throat. "I mean, yeah, sure. Brilliant. What's up?"

"Actually," Kurt twisted his robes between his fingers sheepishly, "could we talk alone?"

Now all the Gryffindors behind Taylor were stunned. They all, painfully so, knew about Taylor's benign crush on Kurt, and now the one thing they never thought they'd never see was happening. Why would Kurt want to speak to Taylor privately? The same thing was running through the blonde's head as he nodded and walked in-step behind Kurt out of the mess hall.

They stopped just around the corner from the Dining Hall by a lonely-looking suit of armor.

"Is everything okay?" Taylor asked immediately.

"Um," Kurt scuffed his shoe against the stone floor cutely, "is-is something wrong with Blaine? He's-he's not with you, and I always see you two together, so I was just curious if..." he trailed off impishly.

Taylor's dreamy eyes looked a little less bright as he said, "Oh... no, I don't think so. He just didn't want to come down with us. He had a bad day. But you know that, he told me that you and him skived class today and got to know each other."

Kurt smiled a little bit. "Yeah." A group of students walked by, and Kurt turned to watch them walk by. He faced Taylor again, "So, you're sure nothing's dicky?"

Taylor shook his head, looking a little downhearted. "No, he's fine."

"Okay," Kurt grinned brightly, and Taylor swooned at how his eyes crinkled at the corners. "Tell him I said hello if you see him, yeah?"

"Sure."

Kurt grinned again, not noticing Taylor's disappointed expression, and bounced back into the Dining Hall, now in much higher spirits now that he knew that his new friend was alright.

Back in the hall, Taylor's shoulders slumped. Of course, the first time Kurt ever wanted to talk to him about something other than swish clothes, it was about Blaine. He sighed heavily and walked back into the cafeteria.

"Hey," Jeff said casually as Taylor sat down at the aged table.

"You look positively gutted," Trent piped in after he swallowed a mouthful of mashed potatoes. "What happened with Kurt?"

"He was worried about Blaine, nothing troubling." Taylor replied bluntly.

"Upset that he didn't pledge his love, then?"

"I'm not-shut up, Nick," the blonde snapped, wishing he could just eat in peace.

An exchanged glance between the other Gryffindor boys and a few helpings of food later, the boys all stood and walked back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Don't worry, mate," Nick clapped Taylor on the back, seeing as his friend still looked a little down, "It's not like he and Blaine'll fall in love or something."


End file.
